By ALAN THATCHER (Squash Mad Editor)
The top seeds enter the competition today in the men’s $12k Madeira International Open, with an all-Essex clash between Ben Coleman and Richie Fallows one of the standout ties.
In the first round, Fallows beat Czech Ondrej Vorlícek in straight games, while Coleman and his fellow top eight seeds enjoyed a bye.
The longest match of the day involved another Czech player, the unseeded Marek Panacek, who beat his English opponent Stuart Macgregor (seeded 9/16) 11-8 in the fifth after 71 minutes.
In an all-English tie, 9/16 seed Simon Herbert beat Perry Malik despite losing the second game by an 11-1 margin following a tight opening game that Leicester player Herbert won 11-9.
The third was crucial, with Herbert squeezing through 12-10 before taking the fourth 11-6.
Portugal’s top seed Rui Soares meets Sam Buckley, who won an all-Irish first round tie with another interesting scoreline, Buckley winning the fourth game 11-0 after hitting back from 2-1 down and then taking the fifth 11-6.
No.8 seed Emyr Evans (Wales) meets Czech Jakub Solnicky, who beat British-based Brazilian Vini Rodrigues in straight games.
PSA Challenger $12,000 Men’s Madeira International Open 2022, Galo Active Health Club, Madeira, Portugal
First Round:
[1] Rui Soares (POR) bye
Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [9/16] Sean Conroy (IRL) 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-0, 11-6 (54m)
[9/16] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 11-9, 1-11, 12-10, 11-6 (49m)
[6] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bye
[7] Ivan Perez (ESP) bye
[9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt Javier Martin (ESP) 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 (60m)
[9/16] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt Ondrej Vorlícek (CZE) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)
[4] Ben Coleman (ENG) bye
[3] Balázs Farkas (HUN) bye
Marek Panacek (CZE) bt [9/16] Stuart MacGregor (ENG) 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 2-11, 11-8 (71m)
[9/16] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) bt Vini Rodrigues (BRA) 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (30m)
[8] Emyr Evans (WAL) bye
[5] Ronald Palomino (COL) bye
[9/16] Valentin Rapp (GER) bt Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (39m)
[9/16] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt Nilo Vidal (ESP) 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 (42m)
[2] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) bye
Second Round:
[1] Rui Soares (POR) v Sam Buckley (IRL)
[6] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) v [9/16] Simon Herbert (ENG)
[7] Ivan Perez (ESP) v [9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP)
[4] Ben Coleman (ENG) v [9/16] Richie Fallows (ENG)
[3] Balázs Farkas (HUN) v Marek Panacek (CZE)
[8] Emyr Evans (WAL) v [9/16] Jakub Solnicky (CZE)
[5] Ronald Palomino (COL) v [9/16] Valentin Rapp (GER)
[2] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v [9/16] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)
Pictures courtesy of Madeira International